This year, partly due to COVID-19âs effect on last yearâs legislature, dozens of criminal justice bills were passed by the Tennessee legislature. Some increase penalties for crimes. Others give victims more protection. And others change criminal procedure for those in the system.
Gov. Bill Lee pushed three big criminal justice laws this year.
A police reform bill, based on recommendations of a task force appointed last summer amid national uproar over policing tactics, bans no-knock warrants. It also puts limitations on chokeholds and requires law enforcement agencies to enact policies regarding de-escalation and a use-of-force reporting system.
House Majority Leader Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, sponsored two other criminal justice packages for Lee.